raise the siege ramp even further, and in order to protect his soldiers he had three siege towers built, each 15m tall. Raining missiles on the defenders, the towers allowed the Roman soldiers beneath to complete their siege works, heightening the ramp until it surpassed the city walls. Fall of Yodfat On the 47th day of the siege, the day when the ramp surpassed the walls, a deserter went over to the Romans and disclosed the dire situation within Yodfat. Few defenders had remained, and these, worn out by their perpetual fighting and vigilance, usually slept during the last watch of the night. At dawn on the very next day, the first of Panemus (July 20, 67), a band of Romans reportedly led by Titus himself stealthily scaled the walls, cut the throats of the watch and opened the gates, letting in the entire Roman army. Taken by surprise, the Jews were furthermore confounded by a thick mist, and the Romans quickly took hold of the summit, pursuing the inhabitants down the eastern slope. According to Josephus, 40,000 were slain or committed suicide and 1,200 women and infants were taken into slavery, while the Romans suffered but a single fatality. Vespasian ordered the town demolished and its walls torn down. The Romans prohibited burial of the fallen and it was only a year or more later when Jews were allowed to return to bury the remains in caves and cisterns. Yosef Ben-Matityahu had hidden in one of the caves that litter the site, along with 40 other prominent citizens of Yodfat. Although Ben-Matityahu was in favour of surrendering to the Romans, the majority of his comrades opted to kill themselves rather than fall into Roman hands. As suicide is considered sinful, they decided to draw lots to kill each other. Ben-Matityahu and another man, however, were the last to survive, and both resolved to give themselves up. Taken to see the Roman general, Ben-Matityahu prophesied that Vespasian would one day become emperor. Vespasian subsequently spared the rebel leader, who began collaborating with the Romans. At first a slave, he would later be freed and be granted Roman citizenship as Flavius Josephus. Archaeology Josephus' role as leader of the defenders of Yodfat, his subsequent collaboration with the Romans and his servitude to the Flavians have all made his account of the siege of Yodfat suspect. As the sole account of the